The life time vs monthly payments for online racing was when rF2 first started in 2012. It was like $85 US. I eventually bought it, not initially though. A year or two later, the purchase method changed, the move to steam, the S397 acquisition.

To answer the question, I'm not 100% sure. I didn't have to buy a Steam version, but there might have been a conversion. Not sure if that was time limited.